Shoe attachment



T.F.BYRNES.'

(No Model.)

SHOE ATTACHMENT.

No.'442,798. Patented Dec. 16. 1890."

THOMAS F. BYRNES, OF EMPORIA, KANSAS.

SHOE ATTACHMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 442,798, dated December16, 1890.

Application filed November 4:, 1889. Serial No. 329,140. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS F. BYRNES, a citizen of the United States,residing at Emporia, in the county of Lyon and State of Kansas, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Shoe Attachments, of which thefollowing is a specification.

'lhisinvention relates to a means of attaching overshoes and other lowshoes to the foot so that they cannot slip off accidentally while thewearer is walking.

It has been customary heretofore to secure overshoes to the foot bymeans of a band secured to a button at the rear of the counter, andpassed from thence over the front of the ankle. An instance of thisconstruction is shown in a patent granted to me on the 14th of August,1883. The button or other substitute therefor secured to the outside ofthe shoe is, however, objectionable, as in the case of ladies shoes itinterferes with the skirts, and in the case of mens shoes it wears thebottom of the pantaloon-leg, and, moreover, it is unsightly, or at leastan injury to the symmetrical appearance of the shoe. So, also, havemetallic clasps been applied to the upper rear edges of the counters ofshoes for engagement with fastening bands or straps; but such a claspbeing wholly outside of the shoe is open to the objections before noted.Another type of fastening has involved the use of a band permanentlyfixed at one end to the side of a shoe in front of and below the instepof a foot when inserted therein, and extended thence over the instep,back around the ankle through a loop inside of the shoe near its top atthe vertical heel line, and thence to the opposite side of the shoe,where the free end of the band is fastened as by a button or a buckle.None of these prior appliances are of such a character that the bandswhile in position ready for service will practically admit of the shoebeing worn without regularly adjusting and fastening the band, whereaswith my appliance the band may be wholly ignored on occasion, and thisis a feature of substantial value. Vhether in use on ordinary shoes oron overshoes, said feature is of material consequence, in that for hastyand brief service the band may be utterly ignored, thus avoiding Wasteof time and trouble without resulting discomfortto the wearer, and alsowithout any liability of straining either the band or the shoe at itspoint of junction with the band, and when thus worn no portion of thefastening appliances will be visible. As a means of holding the strap,band, or string, I in connection with rubber overshoes cement a fiatstrip of suitable material runningvertically at the center line of thecounter, the ends of such. strip being secured between the exterior andthe lining of the shoe, While its central portion is left uncovered,thus forming in substance a loop, so that the fastening strap or bandcan be passed through under or behind it. Such a strap,band, or stringas I have contemplated using thus secured to or applied at the inside ofthe shoe can be allowed to lie in the bottom of the shoe withoutinjuryifit is not desired to tie it over the ankle, so that the shoe for allordinary purposes is uninjured by the presence of such attachment.

In the drawings I have shown at Fig. 1 an exterior view of a shoeembodying my present invention. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section ofthe shoe. Fig. 3 is an enlarged section of the heel portion, showing themanner of applying or securing the fasteningstrap in the shoe.

In said drawings, A may represent any ordinary overshoe or any otherstyle of low shoe which is liable to slip off at the heel either fromthe suction exerted upon the shoe by muddy ground or by reason of thelooseness of its fit. Y

B is a string, band, or strap adapted to be secured to the shoe, ashereinafter explained, and passed over the front of the ankle, and

either tied or otherwise fastened at the ends.

This string B is secured at the inside of the shoe and well down at theinside of the counter, and the means of ready application or attachmentis illustrated in detail at Fig. 3, the same consisting of a verticalstrip 0 of leather or equivalent material running up and down the centeror heel line of the counter and inserted between the lining of the shoeand the adjacent portions of the counter. A portion 0 at the center ofthis strip is left exposed and unattached to the shoe, so as to form aloop through which the string, or band may be passed,the ends of thestrip C being cemented or otherwise firmly secured. An ordinaryshoestring answers very Well for the purposes of my invention, and if itis not desired to tie the shoe the ends may be allowed to fall into theinside of the shoe, especiallyin the case of overshoes, without injuryto themselves or hurting the foot of the wearer.

' The appearance of the shoe is uninjured by the embodiment of myinvention, and it adds but a trifle to the cost of manufacture.

I claim- A shoe provided with a strip of suitable 15 and thereby formingaloop, for use in combi- 2o nation with a fastening band or string.

THOMAS F. BYRNES.

\Vitnesses:

EMMA HACK, EDW. S. EVARTS.

